Dual Cultivation System: The Villainous Servant’s Rise

Chapter 284: A War Between Left Brain and Right! Xiao Yuruo Emerges.

Han Lie stole one last, fierce taste of the sweetness on Ye Qingxuan’s lips. Before she could even react, he was gone, vanishing without a trace.

“That devil…” Ye Qingxuan rolled her eyes, but the corners of her crimson lips curled into an irrepressible smile. “Next time, this Palace will ensure you are punished properly!”

…….

Leaving the Violet Heaven Palace, Han Lie practically skipped along, whistling a jaunty tune. His mood was sublime.

Back in his small wooden cabin, he sat down to brew a pot of tea when a sudden memory struck him. He still had some of the Dao Comprehension Tea he’d bought in Ancient Desolate Heaven.

*Forget it,* he thought. *Tea this expensive should be reserved for special guests. If I drink it all now, I’ll just have to spend a fortune to buy more, won’t I?*

His practical side won out. He reached for his usual, cheap tea leaves, embracing the virtues of a frugal lifestyle. After all, while he could always ask Chi Lian for more Spirit Stones, a treasure like Dao Comprehension Tea wasn’t something you could find just anywhere.

He took a sip.

“Pfft—!”

Perhaps it was because he’d grown accustomed to luxury, but the moment the cheap brew touched his tongue, he sprayed it across the floor in a fine mist.

“Pah! What is this garbage?” he coughed, wiping his mouth. “You wouldn’t even serve this swill to pigs!”

A war erupted in his mind.

*Drink it! You can be cheap with anyone else, but never with yourself!*

And so, after a brief but intense internal battle, Han Lie decisively brewed a fresh pot of the exquisite Dao Comprehension Tea. The thought of making another trip to Ancient Desolate Heaven was far more appealing than forcing another drop of that cheap swill down his throat.

A horrifying thought struck him. He had served this very same cheap tea to Ye Qingxuan before. No wonder she hadn’t touched it. In her eyes, he must have looked like he was offering her a cup of pig slop.

Even the “high-end” tea sold at the inns in Ancient Desolate Heaven, which cost tens of thousands of Spirit Stones for a small pouch, had been dismissed by her as “unpleasant.”

Expensive things, he mused, were expensive for a reason.

Slowly savoring the fragrant, mind-clearing Dao Comprehension Tea, Han Lie began to plan his next move.

“Xiao Zi and Bai Ling are both in secluded cultivation, pushing for the Nascent Soul Stage. Looks like they’re unavailable…”

At the mention of Xiao Zi, a sly, mischievous grin spread across his face. “Heh heh heh, the next time we meet, she’ll probably be a Nascent Soul cultivator. Then I can finally have her transform into a cat girl!”

His mind instantly conjured the image: a gentle, devoted creature with a body that defied reason, a face that could topple kingdoms, and an adorably obedient demeanor.

“Ahem…”

Realizing his thoughts were running wild, Han Lie quickly reined them in. After a moment of consideration, he settled on his original plan.

It was time to find Xiao Qingge.

………….

Meanwhile, deep within the Myriad Sword Pavilion, at the foot of a towering mountain, lay the mouth of a cave.

A woman stood sentinel before it, her expression as severe as the mountain stone around her. Her hands were clasped behind her back, a portrait of absolute authority. This was Leng Ye, the current Sect Master of the Myriad Sword Pavilion.

Her authoritative gaze was fixed on the shimmering spatial portal that served as the cave’s entrance. Beyond that portal lay the Myriad Sword Pavilion’s most brutal training ground, a crucible that every generation of Sect Masters was required to endure.

It was known as the Life and Death Gate.

Nearly a decade had passed since Xiao Yuruo had stepped through that gate.

Recently, Leng Ye had sensed faint tremors from the portal, a sign that Xiao Yuruo’s trial was nearing its end. And so, she had come to wait.

Several more days passed.

The portal, once as still as a stagnant pond, suddenly rippled with a wave of energy. A flicker of pleasure crossed Leng Ye’s stern face.

Hours later, the fluctuations intensified, growing more violent with each passing moment.

Then, a figure stumbled out, a silhouette of ruin and survival.

It was Xiao Yuruo, the Myriad Sword Pavilion’s peerless beauty and Young Pavilion Master.

Her clothes were shredded rags, her exquisite face marred by streaks of dried, blackened blood. A suffocating Killing Intent rolled off her in waves. Her beautiful eyes, once filled with youthful innocence, were now twin daggers, honed to a razor’s edge and capable of killing with a single glance. She had shed her naivety like a second skin.

The aura she exuded was profound—steady, contained, and laced with a chilling lethality.

She had reached the Perfection of the Nascent Soul Stage.

“Master.”

Her gaze fell upon Leng Ye. The word hung in the air, cold and utterly devoid of emotion.

Leng Ye understood. She, too, had walked through the Life and Death Gate. She knew the price it exacted. To call the trials within a boundless hell would be a kindness. It was a place designed to shatter you and forge the pieces into something unbreakable.

It was the very reason Xiao Yuruo’s cultivation had soared so dramatically. If she hadn’t improved at a terrifying pace, she would have simply been devoured by the darkness within.

Leng Ye was not surprised. Xiao Yuruo’s talent was exceptional to begin with. Forged in the hellish crucible of the Life and Death Gate, such a monumental leap in power was entirely within her expectations. The gate tempered more than just cultivation; it tempered the soul, forging a will of unyielding steel. Every Sect Master who emerged from it was fundamentally changed, their resolve made unshakable.

“Hmph. You have not disappointed me. You’ve passed, Yuruo.” Leng Ye revealed a gratified smile. “Come. Let’s return to the Sect. You need to get cleaned up.”

Two hours later.

Sword Heart Hall.

A subtle fragrance preceded her. Xiao Yuruo swept into the spacious, brightly lit hall, reborn. Clad in a simple yet elegant form-fitting tunic, she moved with a lethal grace she hadn’t possessed before. The ordeal had not diminished her beauty; it had honed it, sharpening her into a weapon. Her every movement radiated a chilling competence, the bearing of a true Master of an orthodox sect.

The more Leng Ye looked at her disciple, the more satisfied she became.

“Disciple Xiao Yuruo pays respects to Master.” Arriving before the grand seat, Xiao Yuruo bowed formally.

“Mm,” Leng Ye chuckled, her voice warm. “Yuruo, your cultivation has now surpassed the vast majority of your peers. Even in the Central Plains, where geniuses are as common as fish in the sea, a cultivator of your age and power can stand among the most dazzling prodigies and compete for supremacy!”

She leaned forward slightly. “You are now but a single step from the Soul Formation stage. I believe it won’t be long before I can confidently entrust the Sect to you and retire.”

Xiao Yuruo’s face remained a placid mask, unmoved by the praise.

She cut through her Master’s words with a single, toneless question that sliced through the warm atmosphere like a shard of ice.

“Master,” she said, her voice devoid of any warmth, “the letter I sent all those years ago. Was there ever a reply?”

……….